On 30 November 2017, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) published the updated circular 42 concerning the tax treatment of occupationally-oriented training and further education costs.
Kreisschreiben 42 "Steuerliche Behandlung der berufsorientierte Aus- und Weiterbildungskosten" (1-042-D-2017-d of 30 November 2017) sets out the new legal provisions that came into force on 1 January 2016 with the Federal Act on the Tax Treatment of Vocational Training Costs of 27 September 2013.
The tax deductibility of costs for training and further education is newly regulated:
- Deductible are all job-oriented education and training costs after the first degree at secondary level II. If there is no first degree at upper secondary level, all vocational education and training costs are deductible from the age of 20 onwards, provided that these are not education costs up to and including the first degree at upper secondary level.
- The deduction referred to in Article 33(1)(j) DBA is limited to a maximum of CHF 12 000 per person per tax period.
- Non-deductible are costs for training and further education that are not job-oriented.
The new circular 42 also renders obsolete point 3 of circular 26 of the FTA of 22 September 1995 concerning the deduction of professional expenses for employment.
All circular letters of the FTA can be downloaded here.
